Zanconato, Part 2: Centerfold Photography

(Editorial Note: This was moved out of the Potpourri Friday post. Why? Because the Zanconato update deserved a life of it's own. But more importantly... Because I can.)


Actually I planned to do this update much sooner and had something more creative in mind. Yet time slipped away so I decided that it would be best to let the finished bike speak for itself when making its debut at the races. Well... as we all know... best laid plans. Even though there has been a spy (Tom Dominic) or two that have seen the completed bike, I'm still not yet prepared to release photos. But to whet your appetite here are some nude shots of the frame taken by Zank before paint.








Well… Maybe one teaser can’t hurt.

Personal Update: There's not a jar big enough.

So that I don't have to respond to a ton of e-mails and phone calls about why I wasn't at the first local cross race of the year... Or at any cross races over the next month, here's what’s going on.

Over the Labor Day weekend I slipped a disk in my lower back. But like an idiot I didn’t see a doctor and kept riding the bike, which made the problem worse. Eventually the pain got the to point where I couldn’t ride any more and this past Monday my body had said ENOUGH! The good news is that after one chiropractor visit and three visits to a physical therapist that I now call “Jesus” my back is starting to feel somewhat normal. The bad news is no cross racing until the end of October.

At this point I’m not sure what hurts more… My back or the sick feeling in my stomach from training since the beginning of March, losing 14 pounds, and getting in some kind of race condition so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself in the B’s all so that I can miss a WHOLE MONTH OF CROSS!!!

Trust me on this, there’s not a swear jar big enough for how I feel right now.

Where's Waldo?

And can you find the cyclocross in this photo?

Food for thought... Where are your hands?

Photos by Sint Netels

A few days ago I read this on the Road Bike Review cyclocross forum,

The main thing to be learned from watching any current pro video is that the best guys ride the hoods exclusively. Don't give yourself too many options during a cross race. Options=chances to waste energy while at your limit. Hoods are the best place for all parts of the course, and drops are for the final sprint. Tops are for riding to the beer store.

This weekend starts the process of dialing in my cyclocross position on the Zanconato. Though a large mount of the Indy Fab fit will transfer to the Zank, the main focus will be making sure that I’m the most comfortable on the hoods. About 5 months ago I had made this decision prior to reading the above thoughts on the subject because I too had made the same observation of how the Euro pro’s were racing. Hey… You can’t argue with their results. :-)

Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2, 3 and 4 of the Zanconato cyclocross bike build. Lots of updates are on the way!

The crash heard around the world.

This might be the only video of the infamous crash that happened to Ryan Trebon during the 2007 Cyclocross Nationals Elite Mens race. Many thanks to teamskincycling for capturing the moment.




I've got some thoughts about the crash, but I'll save them until I hear what my cross buddies have to say first.

The 2007 Riding With The Devil Cyclocross Awards

Rather than spending the swear jar proceeds on beer, I opted to use the money towards the 1st Annual Riding With The Devil Cyclocross Awards. The purpose of Riding With The Devil Cyclocross Awards is to honor the extraordinary achievements of those that race cyclocross on the Snakebite Racing Team.

Before starting the awards ceremony I need to take a minute to thank a few people. First and foremost an ENORMOUS thank you goes to Brian and Diane at HubBub. After getting a call 4:00 PM on Friday, Brian quickly pulled together a generous box of used parts. Without those parts there wouldn’t have been any awards. I can’t thank you enough Brian. And Laurie gets a big thank you too. She gave me the idea for the wood bases, went out in the middle of the night to get sand and make the sand bags, and she stayed up with me to 12:45 AM to give moral support. Thanks Honey!

So without further delay, let’s get this shindig dug. :-)


The Iron Maiden Award for Phenomenal Pain Tolerance (PPT): Ray Huang

Rather than pursue fame and glory in the B field, Ray chose to race among the big men of cross where the pain is long and plentiful. We’re going to miss Ray on the Snakebite team. We wish you the best of luck with the Torrelli boys.


The Aleister Crowley Award for Outstanding Photography: Gary Burkholder

What can you say? When you’ve got skills, you’ve got skills.


The Beelzebub Performance Award: John Ehrlinger

It’s not every day you have the ability to beat Paul Martin, the 2007 Elite Men's Road Race National Champion. So what if Paul’s chain broke during the race, John’s could have too.


The Anton LaVey Humanitarian Award: Dan Baraona

The Anton Lavay Humanitarian Award is given to a person most deserving of encouragement to move from one race category to next. After racing several seasons in the C’s Dan’s goal for 2008 is raise his game and race with the B’s. Godspeed Dan and welcome to Snakebite!


And last but not least…

The Eternal Damnation Award: Rick Adams

There is a special place in Hell reserved for the vilest of humanity. Of those the cyclocross sandbagger is the most contemptible of filth. This season Rick bravely raced against the cyclocross sandbagger and met the challenge head on. Never forget Rick that testing/humiliation is good for the soul. Second place is a great character builder.


That concludes the 2007 Riding With The Devil Cyclocross Awards. Remember… Every quarter you add to the swear jar will make a difference in the life of a needy, unfortunate cyclocross racer. Good night and God Bless.

Like sands through the hourglass these are the days of our lives.

It’s good to see that Northeast Ohio isn’t the only area dealing with the dreaded cyclocross sandbagger. On Road Bike Review there’s a clever idea on how a New England cross racer is using eBay (the link to the actual auction) to expose these dregs of the cycling community.

There’s got to be a creative solution for the Cleveland race series but my energies are best spent trying to eliminate the sandbags from around my waistline. Liposuction or gastric bypass surgery are two viable options. Then I could play hours upon hours of Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band during the recovery process. Yet surgical procedures are the ways of the sandbagger. I need to man up, be a true Belgian and get my a$$ *CLINK… A quarter falls into the swear jar* on a saddle.

On a serious note, a cyclocross Medal of Honor is to be awarded to Ray (Death Ray) Huang for laying down his opportunities for glory in the B’s and raced against the hard men of cross. With two races remaining in the “Respect my authori-tie” series Ray has shown in his first year of cross that he has what it takes to tame the feared Hydra of cyclocross.

And huge props to Tony Marut for becoming the Junior Men’s 16-18, 2007 Ohio State Cyclocross Champion!!! Tony is a great, solid kid. It couldn’t have gone better guy.

Zanconato, Part 1: 50 ways to leave your lover… Or bike.

On June 22, 2006, the Independent Fabrication Planet X took a turn for the worst. I’ll rephrase that by saying I took a turn for the worst and in the process chose one of the 50 ways to leave your bike. You’re now probably saying to yourself, “What #*?@ are you talking about?” Rather than go into a dissertation, who better than to describe through the majesty of song, the brilliant songwriter and composer… Paul Simon. Take it away Paul!


Sung to the chorus of 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon.

You just let it slip of the rack, Jack
Make a crash into a van, Stan
You need a new toy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Forget about the rust. Gus
You don’t need to discuss much
Drive under a low overhang, Cain
And get yourself free


The semi-short story:
While driving to a group ride I went under a low overhang and bent the fork on the Independent into a perfect right angle (Drive under a low overhang, Cain). Other than the fork and a SLR saddle being trashed, HubBub Custom Bicycles gave the bike a good bill of health. Though to be on the safe side we sent the frame to Indy Fab just to make sure.


A few days after sending the frame to IF for inspection I got the good news/bad news call from Lloyd Graves. The good news… The fork took the full impact of the overhang accident and there was nothing wrong with the frame in regards to the crash. The bad news… The inside of the seat tube was so rusted away that according to Lloyd “It looks like the inside of the Titanic.” From his perspective it was just a matter of time before the frame collapsed from corrosion (Forget about the rust. Gus). Lloyd went on to say that the frame was basically only good for a one to two lap pit bike, not a full time race machine.

I was the second owner of the Planet X and the previous owner had overstated the condition of the frame. He had assured me that the frame and fork were made in 2000, though raced it had been well taken care of, and had minor rust in the seat tube. As it turns out the frame was made in 1997, was in OK condition, and the rust was significant without the slightest hint of any Frame Saver being used to protect the seat tube from corrosion.

To this day I still feel that it was good deal for what I got. This was my first cross bike and it was a Planet X with a team paint job! After adding a few parts to get the bike fitted properly, I had an awesome cross bike for the fraction of what a new one would've cost. It was going to be hard giving up on a bike that had never once let me down.

Wrapped in warmth.

Over the last two days it finally got cool enough in Cleveland to justify wearing the Zank goodies. Every item has been some of my favorite things to bum around in after work or on the weekends. Yet there’s been one article of clothing that’s rose above the rest… the hoodie.

The first time I saw the Zanconato hoodie was when Mike was sporting one at 2006 Cross Nat’s. Overall the quality of the hoodie is top notch. It’s so soft, comfortable, and toasty. It’s like being wrapped in a chocolate chip cookie that’s just come out of the oven.


And for the cool factor, the back features the New Belgium flag. Nothing in the sport of cycling says cyclocross better than the Lion of Flanders.

Even though I might not place well at every cross race this year, I’ll still be in first place at looking good afterwards in the Zank hoodie while drinking Belgium beer and ringing the cowbell.

The first signs of life are the sweetest.

Here’s the first ultrasound from Dr. Mike Zanconato.






The wheels were built by ergottWheels with DT Swiss 240 hubs, Mavic Reflex CD rims, Sapim Laser Spokes (three cross), DT Swiss alloy nipples, and DT Swiss quick releases. The tires are French, handmade, FMB’s. Everything that I’ve read about the FMB’s has been very positive and should be as good, if not better than the popular Dugast tire. This will be my first set and time ever riding on tubies. Today I feel like I’m six years old on Christmas Eve. :-)

When the frame pictures come in I’ll talk about the untimely death of the Independent Fabrication Planet X and the experience of working with Zank.